FateRedNight
by BXRenegade
Summary: When a mysterious man with a red spear shows up at her home, Misuzu Kusakabe finds herself thrust into an unexpected battle for survival and the chance at laying claim to the ultimate prize of the Holy Grail itself. Aided by her classmate Shirou and his own Servant, will the two survive this bloody conflict? Reboot of old, dead story of same name.
1. Prologue

He had failed. The War hadn't even officially begun, and he had already failed. Even he'd call it pathetic. His Master had trusted this person, known him for years, she claimed. He should have known something was wrong when they had decided to meet somewhere so secluded. He should have known something was wrong when they arrived late. He should have known something was wrong when the priest showed up with that blond man in tow. But no, he didn't know something was wrong until his Master had already paid the price. Brutally, remorselessly killed.

He wouldn't forget that man's smile as he had gazed into the betrayed expression of his now expired Master's face. He wouldn't forget that blonde bastard either, watching the whole thing calmly with a bored look like it was some kind of bad daytime drama.

By the time he was reacting it was too late. She couldn't be saved from that. He tried to take revenge, swift and immediate, but quickly learned that the priest and his companion were far more than they seemed. Their exchange of blows lasted less than a minute, but without access to a mana supply or an Archer's Independant Action trait he knew he'd falter soon.

The priest revealed his bare arm, covered in Command Sigils, and offered peace and a choice. If he joined them he could still have a chance at the War's prize, or he could die, slowly disappearing as his connection to this world faded.

His decision was not easy. If he won he could undo his mistake, save his Master, and possibly take revenge on the two before him. That would entail working with… no, for them, beneath them like some mistreated dog. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

So he decided to run in an all-or-nothing gambit. It hurt to do so, and fleeing was not something he would normally consider, but the underhanded actions he had just seen had his rage at a thundering boil. He would seek a new Master with what little time he had, and he would try to avenge his lost companion. There was one last problem before he left, however.

He briefly glanced down at his Master's corpse, bleeding on the rug. Beneath her gloves he knew there still rested a red crest tied to him. Running now would only allow the enemies before him to take those seals and force his servitude. He silently apologized to his Master before swiftly flicking his spear. The golden bastard shouted something and faux priest rushed him, but too late. He sliced her arm from fingers to elbow, destroying the brand and rendering it useless against him.

Then he fled, vengeance seared into his mind for this atrocity. He started monitoring his mana reserves closely. How long did he have? A day? Certainly not. A couple hours? If he was lucky.

A few options came to mind. First, he could find another Master-Servant pair and try to join them. This would work but it would require them trusting him, and the splitting of the Master's mana reserves would leave him at reduced power. Not optimal, but workable. Second, there were supposedly two Servants left unsummoned. If he could find one of these chosen Masters before they summoned their own Servant, he could try and convince them to abandon their other plans in favor of working with him. It would be near impossible to find one of these Masters but there was a shot. Lastly, he could go solo and begin feeding on the local human populace. This was an unacceptable option; he would have to kill dozens. His pride as a hero prevented him from committing such a sin. None of the options were good, but all of them were better than working for that treacherous priest.

A or B it is, then. I'll have to hurry, he concluded. Luckily he was one of the faster Servants. It was a big city, and he had a lot of ground to cover in very little time.

Lancer grit his teeth in frustration. Kirei Kotomine… I'll make you pay a dozen times over for that.

He turned to his mysteries for insight on his situation. His experience laid in runes which were incredibly versatile. He drew a rune in the air, a glyph of searching and finding. It burned for a moment in the air like floating fire, then slowly dissipated. It couldn't find what he needed. Too far away, no target, too vague… a whole list of things could have been wrong. With a sigh he shifted to spirit form to save mana, and began his search in earnest.

* * *

A lone girl stood in a classically designed dojo. She was taller than most girls her age, tall enough to look most of the boys in her class levelly in the eye, and even look down upon a few. Her purple eyes were hard, confident, and focused. Her long red hair whipped around her as she swung a sword in a swift horizontal arc, then a downward slash. Not a practice sword but real, sharpened steel. She struck again and again with far more strength and dexterity than her slender build would suggest.

This carried on in near silence for minutes uncounted. She swapped out one sword for another, this one smaller and more agile, and proceeded with a new series of techniques. After a while, she produced a third sword and dual wielded it with the second, skillfully handling both in her martial acrobatics. The blades sang through the air as she completed her forms for the evening. She hadn't needed these skills for years, but she kept them as sharp as the blades in her hands.

It was habit now, ritual even. After school was homework and maybe a bit of free time, then dinner, evening practice, meditations, a bit more free time, and finally bed. This pattern gave consistency in a chaotic world and helped her lead a healthy lifestyle.

She dismissed the magical blade, returning it to its place amongst its peers. A five minute rest for water and to wipe the sweat from her brow, and then she would sit for her nightly meditations.

She sat in seiza before the small shrine along the back wall of the dojo. It was nothing fancy, a small altar for her meditations. She lit the incense and watched the smoke rise to the ceiling, slowly dissipating and filling the area with a relaxing scent. She closed her eyes and controlled her breathing. This was the most important part of her day. Not the schooling, nor the swordplay, nor any of the hustle and bustle of life was worth it if she couldn't find peace at the end of it all.

But this wasn't just for her own sake. Her home sat along a line of energy that would occasionally draw in spirits. These power lines ran throughout the world and sometimes converged into large conduits of energy, such as the one in her home village or the one she had discovered lied in Ryuudou Temple. This particular line was a bit larger than average, and so her home was more receptive to the mythical and mysterious happenings of the world.

She would listen for the spirits, as only those trained as she was could, and would try to decipher the hushed messages that danced in the trees, the hidden whispers that scurried through the floorboards, and the gentle musings that pit-patted in the rain. Or so she would have, if these things remained.

Since leaving her village she had scarcely felt any of these things. Being so near a city as large as Fuyuki, the spirits here were generally weak and barely noticeable to all but the most experienced Onmyoji, a status she would only reach with many more years of practice. She was not disheartened though, for on occasion they would 'speak' louder, and her vigilance would be rewarded. Just a few weeks past she heard tell of rain coming, despite what the weather man had to say. When she had left school, she was one of only a handful of students with an umbrella. "Just a feeling I had", she had explained to her classmates when they asked how she had known.

Since that time she had heard nothing, not even a distant whisper. Something was happening, she knew. She would wait until they returned or told her what was wrong. It was part of the job to help maintain order and balance in the area, but she was powerless to act without information.

So Misuzu Kusakabe sat and listened.

* * *

The Grail watched as the now Master-less Servant hurried through the town, checking everything from children's playgrounds to apartment complexes, desperately searching for a new magus to form a contract with. If only it had a body, it'd drag the blue moron back where he belonged.

The Lancer was supposed to work for the priest! It had made so many wonderful plans, too. After having such a fun time with the last Lancer, the corrupted entity had high expectations for this new combatant. Oh, how it relished the last minute fury, the hatred that Diarmuid had expressed in his dying moments. The blood, the suffering, the betrayal. Exquisite.

But alas, the man in blue tights hurried through the town like a man possessed, desperate to find a way out of his situation or die trying. Die he certainly would; he was nowhere near any of the candidates the Grail had identified. What a damn foolish thing to do. The Lancer must have known this couldn't end well.

It turned its attention back to the priest. He was conversing with the leftover Archer and searching the dead Master's body.

Kirei frowned at the destroyed sigils. His goals had not been achieved, and any chance of salvaging the situation was lost. The frown shifted to a mirthless smirk. He straightened himself to his full height and he began leaving. The Archer followed and the Grail turned its attentions toward nothing in particular. What a disappointing day. It let out a metaphorical sigh of frustration. It wouldn't change anything, but it would certainly make it feel a little better at this loss. This War was shaping up to be quite boring.

* * *

The incense flames flickered, the air chilled, and the trees outside all rustled in a wind that wasn't there. It was over in a moment. Through it all she felt disappointment, annoyance, and a sliver of anger rush through her. Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped. Never were the things she heard so pronounced as this. What did it mean? She waited patiently, eager to learn more.

Clearly a spirit of some kind was upset, but at what she couldn't tell. She calmed her beating heart, as she could understand nothing if she was so on edge. She strained to hear anything more to understand the problem, but when a minute passed in silence she grew worried. A stressed or angry spirit could cause all kinds of problems.

Most spirits cared little for the ongoings of mortals, so she doubted the entity would accept her words, but…

"I am here. I hear you, and I listen."

* * *

The Grail whipped its attention around. Who? Why? How? How could something have touched this place, its silent sanctum? It calmed itself and searched.

There, a girl sitting patiently as though waiting for something, listening carefully. A girl who understood magic, if only superficially. A girl who was listening for the unhearable and searching for the unseeable. A thousand possibilities ran through its mind in an instant and it made its decision. She wasn't one of the Masters the Grail had expected, but it could work with this. It would have to be rather direct tonight to make ends meet.

This War might turn out more interesting than it had thought.

* * *

Misuzu spoke her words and felt the attention of something focus fully upon her. The air practically hummed with energy as she waited in excitement, curiosity, and more than a little fear. What was this thing? Too powerful, too vast for an average spirit, and certainly not a demon; it didn't even trip the protective field around the edge of the forest. Never before had she experienced such a thing.

The pressure backed off slightly and the incense candles flickered. The incense smoke suddenly changed, ceasing its steady rise. She held her breath as the vapor drifted toward her slowly, gently, like a finger reaching out to touch her. She reached back just as slowly, not shifting from her kneeling position. The tendril gently wrapped around her hand as she watched in awe. Not even another Onmyoji would believe it.

The tendril wrapped around her wrist, as though to clasp her hand… and it burned. She withdrew her hand quickly in fear. Was the thing malevolent? Though no sword rested at her hip, she instinctively went to draw a blade in defense, then paused when she saw her hand. A red sigil slowly developed on her hand, near her wrist. Thinking back to all the stories she had read or been told, this was either very good or very bad, and she doubted she would know until it was over.

The smoke drifted away from her, billowing slowly to point at the open dojo door - hadn't she closed that? - before diluting to nothingness. The incense smoke returned to its mundane meander toward the ceiling.

Unsure of what to do next, she walked to the door as instructed. As far as she could tell, she had been marked for something, and the first step to take was through that door.

* * *

Lancer had calmed down a bit. Unluckily, he was rational enough now to truly appreciate his situation. He was growing desperate, as he had already used up about half his time. The business district was nearly empty for the evening, and residential was turning up nothing so far.

He had yet to search the docks or the outskirts, and he was only part way through the many houses that dotted the western half of the town. He had to commit somewhere, as he was running out of time.

A quick shift back to the physical and he made another half-hearted attempt at using his runes to find his goal. He drew the symbol with his off hand and gazed at it, bored and certain it would again do nothing but fizzle away. He was just turning away when the rune flared up and shifted around behind him, beginning to guide him. His eyebrows shot up and he stared at the mark, scarcely believing his eyes. He shook off his stupor and ran in the direction he was given. The outskirts it would be, then.

He leapt over fences and homes until he reached the edge of town, and then began weaving through trees and swinging from branches to maximize his speed. It wasn't long before he saw the large estate sitting among the trees.

As he approached he could feel a bounded field, but it was odd. A magus would normally set up one of these to protect against physical and magical threats, but so far as he could tell this one was specifically meant to protect against, of all damn things, hostile spiritual entities. It was tied to a series of statues resting along the forest edge. It would stop him from continuing unless he forced his way through, which he reasoned would be rather rude and not how he would want to introduce himself to his potential new Master.

Intead, he turned to his spear on this one, materializing it in his hands. Even in the near dark of night it gleamed. Entirely red and emitting a feeling of dread to any who looked at it, it was an accursed thing. He twirled it once before gently rapping the butt end against the field three times. If whoever used this field knew what they were doing, they would definitely feel that.

* * *

Misuzu stood in the doorway and looked around the lawn, not sure what she was looking for but wagering that it couldn't have been far if her guidance had ended here. Nothing seemed out of place, but she understood better than most that looks could be deceiving. The dark certainly wasn't helping. It was getting late, and there was little moonlight from behind the clouds drifting through the town.

She felt like she was playing with fire. This was outside her expertise and she was nervous to plunge into uncharted territory with only a pseudo-spiritual entity of unknown power and origin as her guide. However, it was moments like these that forged new legends. How many of her ancestors had done similar things in the early days of her clan, before they learned the many things they did now?

She decided on a walk around the perimeter. If she found nothing and was given no more guidance then this would simply have to wait until the morning. She was halfway around when she felt something powerful smack against the barrier that protected the house.

Once, twice, thrice…

Misuzu knit her brow in thought. Is something testing my defenses? Testing my reaction, perhaps? Weak spirits could bypass the barrier entirely; they didn't concern her and were usually the ones she was listening for. Stronger spirits that did concern her were either completely repulsed or would realize there was a blockade and leave. Those spirits would have to find a way to bypass or break the barrier if they really wanted in. Considering it had been standing unopposed since the construction of the estate, she had faith in its ability to hold against any brute force attempts like this.

It doesn't make sense that one would announce its presence like this. Unless… Did something just knock on the barrier like a door?, she asked herself. She shook her head in disbelief; this day was becoming downright surreal.

She couldn't forget the power of the thing that she had felt though, politeness be damned. This was not a being to trifle with, and she hurried herself along, ready to draw steel if she deemed it necessary.

It wasn't long until she spotted a man standing next to one of the sculptures that served to anchor the field to this world. This wasn't good. She wasn't sure what he was doing there but if the thing she was looking for came around there could be consequences. She jogged up to the man, intent on shooing him away before any problems could arise.

The man stood about six feet tall and was leaning against some kind of long red pole. He had blue hair tied back in a ponytail, and wore matching blue tights inlaid with silver. He was looking around her yard, searching for something much the same way she had been just minutes before, when he noticed her walking towards him. He straightened and raised a hand in greeting.

"Sir!", she called out as she drew near. She spoke loudly, but calmly. "I'm not sure what you think you're doing out here, but these woods aren't safe right now. Please, return home."

The man gave her a bored stare, then gave a single, short laugh and a wide smile. "And what exactly is coming to get me, little lady?"

"Please, there's no time to explain", she began. "If you won't go I'll have to… call…" She trailed off as she looked at what the man was carrying. She had originally assumed it was some kind of stylized walking stick, but when he flipped it up to rest it on his shoulder she realized it was something far more sinister.

It was a spear. Blood red and nearly the size of the man that carried it, it held a bloodlust that gave rise to an instinctual fear in her. The business end was a serrated blade that could inflict grievous wounds, and the opposite end was spiked to provide balance and versatility in combat. It was both a marvelous and terrible weapon, designed to cause pain along with death.

She broke free of her fear long enough to jump back a few feet and draw one of her more favored swords, Kashigiri Hiromitsu.

Lancer, surprised, followed her gaze and realized the reason for her sudden shift in demeanor. It was easy to forget how the weapon affected others. He dismissed the weapon to help put her at ease, and raised his open hands for a moment to show he had no intention of attacking. Her expression became less fearful, but still very cautious. "Small victories", he muttered to himself.

"Who are you", Misuzu asked him, her tone cold and serious. "What was that spear?"

"Who are you", he countered. "What is that sword?" Besides having a brief laugh at the situation, he was genuinely curious about the blade. Its edge was glowing with a hot red light in the night, as though it was fresh from the forge, and he could tell it was of a quality that far surpassed anything that could be made in the modern day.

Misuzu frowned at the casual deflection, but decided the man likely meant no harm if he so willingly disarmed himself. She lowered her sword but still kept a proper grip on it incase the threat returned.

"What exactly are you doing here", she asked with just a drop of aggression. She wasn't here to play games.

"I'm looking for someone", the blue man replied coolly, still with a relaxed smile. "And if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say you're doing the same. I did try to get some attention, after all."

"You were the one who triggered the barrier?", she asked, disbelieving. "Only high level spiritual entities should be able to directly interact with it."

"High level spiritual entities, huh? Yeah, I guess you'd call me one of those", Lancer replied. "But honestly I'm in a bit of a hurry, little lady. I don't have the luxury to tip-toe around it, so you wouldn't happen to know anyone around here with a fancy, bright-red mark on their hand would you?"

Misuzu raised her sword slightly again. "And what if I said I did?"

Lancer smirked. "Cautious, aren't you? That's good, you'll stay alive longer." His smile completely faded for the first time since they started talking. "You should tell that person that they are in danger, and that I really need to talk to them."

She gave the man an appraising look, struggling to decide if she could trust him or not. On one hand he seemed to be honest enough, but on the other he had made a few ridiculous claims so far and wielded a weapon that was obviously, terribly cursed. She remembered then that she owned a weapon that was much the same. That sword didn't decide how or when it was wielded, she did. After a few more moments of consideration, she finally lowered her weapon completely and let herself relax.

She raised her hand to show the newly made mark upon her slender wrist. "Fine. Follow me, and we can speak in the sitting room." She turned and began walking away. She didn't hear the man follow her, and turned to find him staring at her blankly.

Lancer again summoned his spear, and again rapped the barrier, producing the same strong 'knock' that he had previously. "I'd love to, little lady, but unless you'd rather I break this thing down, you'll have to let me in."

Misuzu sighed softly to herself. She had forgotten both about the barrier, and to introduce herself. She gave a short courteous bow. "I am Misuzu Kusakabe, and if you call me 'little lady' again, I'll toss you out on the street."

Lancer's smile returned larger than ever. "And a bit of fire, too! I do know how to pick 'em." He calmed down and looked her right in the eye. "I am the Servant of the spear, Lancer, and you may address me as such", he declared, his tone all business. "In the coming days, I hope you will accept me to be both your sword and shield."

Misuzu raised her sword to show it plainly. "I already have a sword, so why should I need another?"

"Because there's at least six more pointed back at you."

* * *

A/N: To all my new readers, I welcome you to this story. If you're here after being pinged on the old story, I welcome you back with great enthusiasm, and thank you for having the faith to keep that story on your follow list for this long. I did say long ago that I didn't want this to be a dead story; I've always wanted to start again.

New readers (and possibly old ones) are probably wondering why I'm mixing Fate with 11eyes of all things. I'm doing Fate because it is an amazing story. I've loved it since I first saw the Deen anime in 2012 and after reading the original visual novel I was solidly in the fanboy category. As for 11eyes, it's just an anime/manga that I enjoyed that I feel doesn't get enough love. I really wish the VN was translated: one can hope. There are a lot of great characters to work with, and while I'll be sticking primarily to Misuzu, I promise all the others are around. If I keep the momentum going through the Grail War I truly hope to work with all of those characters much more in the future.

Returning readers may be wondering why I'm rewriting this, and why now after so long. I had originally stopped the old story in the long lost year of 2015 with the intention of starting over after leaving college, and doing so fairly soon. I quickly found myself enrolled in a new college going for a new degree and working full time, sometimes more, to save up money along the way. This amounted to about 60-75 hours a week of just school and work, and I lost the willpower to write during that time in favor of spending my limited free time with friends.

So what's changed? I've graduated, I bought into a small business, and I bought my own home about a year and a half ago. I'm actually doing the vast majority of my writing while burning downtime at work on quiet days.

Don't expect frequent uploads. If I'm going to be delivering a story of quality my uploads will probably have fairly large gaps between them, probably a few months at a time. With that in mind, please note that I will endeavor to only upload the best story I can write, and I will be working on it continuously if slowly. Previous readers may remember that the first story was uploaded and edited by a friend of mine, and he is continuing to do so this time around as well.

The old story had me uploading chapters that were at least 10,000 words and as large as 25,000, which is a lot to chew in one chapter with not a lot of actual progression in the story. This prologue was about 4,000 and I expect this time around that chapters will be more along the lines of 5,000 to 10,000 words depending on how much I feel needs saying in that chapter, but who knows? As for content, I have new ideas for what direction I want to take this story in, and old readers will already be noticing significant changes in how I'm starting things off.

With all that said, I hope you all enjoyed the prologue. We start off once again from primarily Misuzu's standpoint, but will again be switching to Shirou next chapter and will be staying there most of the time.

One last quick note on reviews anyone wants to leave me. I am glad for every review I get, and I do hope you'll leave your thoughts on each chapter both good and bad. Criticism is just as important to me as words of encouragement, as without it I can't improve nearly as much. I only ask that criticism be constructive and not scare away potential new readers, as they may like it even if you don't. I'd really rather not be the guy who deletes reviews, but most of this community is pretty swell so I doubt this will be a problem.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story as it comes out and that I'll see you all next time.

E/N: Hey all, it's ShadowAce117 here. I'm editing the story together with BxRenegade. It's been awhile for both of us, might even start writing more myself.

As always, we'll make every effort to answer any question by review or PM, though it'll be faster for us to respond to reviews, our method of answering may differ on the answer itself.

All things considered in our lives, we'll make sure to try our best to finish this story and not leave it half-baked like the old one.

Hope to see you guys around!


	2. Chapter 1

Just a head's up: There's a short Q and A section at the very bottom of this chapter after the A/N, steer clear if you're like some of my friends and cannot stand even the slimmest of potential spoilers. Enjoy the chapter!

Extra Note: Had some formatting problems but things look a lot better than they did. Should be good now, PM if you see any major issues I don't and I'll tackle it this evening once I have time.

Chapter One

In a large cement shed, Shirou Emiya sat alone. He was surrounded by the clutter of dozens of failed or in-progress projects - miscellaneous tools, broken electronics and pieces to them, as well as lengths of wood and pipe. He was bathed in the bright beams of moonlight that shone through an elevated window. In his hands rested a thin rod of iron, and his eyes were closed in intense and careful concentration. In his mind he could see and understand the composition of the metal, as well as how it was made.

He slowly began filling the rod with mana, making it stronger and harder. Its abilities soon advanced to match that of modest steel, and he struggled to slow his output of mana, carefully trying to determine just how much more the bar could handle. After a time, the metal's strength was approaching that of a very well made steel. He tried to drop his reinforcement to a trickle and failed.

The iron bar became oversaturated and it burst, breaking into a few shorter lengths with jagged ends. A small piece of shrapnel gave his hand a short but deep cut, but he shrugged it off and wrapped it in a small piece of clean cloth. He always healed quickly, and there likely wouldn't even be a scar in the morning.

The loss of focus ruined his initial steps. The magical conduit, carefully and painfully formed from one of the nerves in his back, lost its properties and again became a mundane organ. He would have to restart the process. He sighed, disappointed but not intending to give up. After a brief rest, he positioned himself to be a bit more comfortable before setting his focus back on his work, grabbing a piece of wood this time.

* * *

"Senpai… Senpai, wake up. I've already started breakfast."

Shirou stirred himself to wakefulness, a bit sore from sleeping on the concrete floor. His eyes fluttered open and he wiped the built up grit from the corners of his eyes.

"Senpai, you need to stop falling asleep on the floor. At least bring a blanket out here, or you'll catch a cold", said the soothing, recognizable voice beside him.

"Good morning, Sakura", he managed. "Is Taiga here yet?"

"Good morning, Senpai", said Sakura with a small smile. "She's not here yet, but it shouldn't be much longer. Go clean up and I'll finish breakfast, okay?"

Shirou nodded and Sakura left, presumably heading to the kitchen. She was a great friend, and Shirou liked her company. "_I should take her advice, really_", he thought.. If he kept up this habit, she was going to dominate the kitchen and surpass his skills. Unacceptable. His kitchen was hallowed ground, and he was the high priest; his pupil would not take his title yet.

Already a bit behind and determined to get back on course, Shirou hurried himself through his morning routine. He'd have to skip his morning exercises in the dojo, but if he was fast enough he may even be able to contest a place in the kitchen. It was far too late to play head chef for the day, but he may be able to squeeze in a side dish both to help out Sakura and to indulge in one of his own pleasures. Cooking was one of only a few pastimes that Shirou truly enjoyed. It made him happy to see other people happy as they enjoyed the food he had prepared with his own labors.

Finished, he made his way through the classically designed hallways to the kitchen, one of the few rooms completely modernized. Sakura was hard at it, diligently monitoring the many processes of her preparations as she went about making breakfast. Her efforts had filled the kitchen and adjoined dining area with a wonderful melody of scents and sounds, heralding to the third person in the room that her supreme appetite could soon be sated.

Speaking of that person, she was suspiciously quiet today. She was sitting at the dining table with her head buried in a newspaper. To top it off, she wasn't fawning over the kitchen island to look at the food and take in its scents from point blank range while guessing what was being made. To put it simply, she was acting like the adult she was supposed to be.

"_Definitely suspicious_", thought Shirou. He wouldn't remark on it yet and startle the beast, but he put himself on guard for a surprise attack. "_It could come from anywhere_." He took a quick inventory of the room and, seeing nothing out of place, stepped into the kitchen proper to examine Sakura's handywork.

His previous judgement had been correct; she had everything under control and the main meal as well as complementing sides would be done soon. White rice was cooking and miso boiled lightly. A pan of seasoned meat and another with a vegetable mixture sauteed in butter sizzled pleasantly. Beside those, Sakura was currently handling a skillet filled with what appeared to be a the start of a fluffy omelet.

Shirou shimmied up beside her to check the meat and vegetables. He stirred them and added a little more seasoning according to his nose. He stepped aside to tend the soup as Sakura began filling the omelet with the concoctions.

They had stopped needing words in the kitchen and instead silently trusted the other to assess the situation, improve where they felt they could, and generally assist each other without any major mistakes. It made for quick and efficient work, which was nice considering they were daily preparing such things for three people, one of whom counted as two people and needed to be fed accordingly.

In a matter of minutes the food was complete. Shirou dished out rice and soup into bowls while his companion flipped the last omelet onto a plate. They quickly cleaned the pots and pans while the food cooled and then set the plated meals on the table, eager to dig in.

Taiga Fujimura, Shirou's guardian, language teacher, and self-proclaimed big sister, still kept herself hidden behind the morning news. One hand snaked around from behind the paper to grab a spoon and begin on her soup, but otherwise remained silent.

At the very least, Shirou decided, the quiet was an unexpected and pleasant change to the start of his morning. The usually boisterous woman tended to stir the mood up while shouting about one thing or another, before being brought to heel by the food before her. She would promptly destroy the meal in a matter of minutes before returning to her natural, wild state.

So Shirou basked in a moment of morning peace that was usually reserved for days when Taiga was absent for some reason. He sampled his omelet and found it to his liking. He reached for the soy sauce to flavor his rice. He tipped it to pour… and the entire lid popped off, showering his rice, the table, and part of his omelet in the dark condiment.

"Ack!", he exclaimed, surprised by this turn of events. His shock caused him to fumble the bottle further. He scrambled to stop the flow, but only managed to splash more on himself before the bottle ran dry.

Sakura squeaked in surprise and pulled her dishes away from the expanding flow. "I'll grab a towel!", she explained, running for the kitchen drawer.

From behind a newspaper, a slow laugh began to rise. "Ha! Ahahahaha! I got you this time, Shirou!", shouted Taiga as she set aside her newspaper and settled in to truly begin her meal. Tears of mirth filled her eyes as she continued to laugh and giggle like the child she wasn't. "You never even saw it coming! You should have seen your face! Hahaha!" Eventually her giggles died down and she sat with a smug look on her face, seemingly proud of making a mess of the table.

Shirou stared at her, his eyes dead and empty. He could be angry, he could scold her, he could shout and try to teach her a lesson, but he knew it would do no good. Instead, he set the bottle down gingerly and waited.

Sakura, worry etched on her face, returned with the towel and began to diligently clean the mess before it could spread further. He quietly thanked her and continued his soft glare at the perpetrator. Taiga continued to smugly enjoy her omelet, unaware of her mistake.

"How's your rice, Taiga?", Shirou asked innocently.

"Hm? Oh, I'm not sure yet, can you pass the soy sauce?", she requested.

Shirou just stared.

Taiga smiled back pleasantly.

"Um…", spoke up Sakura nervously. "That… was the last bottle we had."

Taiga nodded a few times with a smile. "Oh, I see, I see." Her smile shifted to a frown. Soon, small whimpers could be heard coming from her, and a single tear dropped from her face.

"_The best lessons are the ones we teach ourselves_", thought Shirou.

* * *

Soon after, Taiga had dejectedly informed them that she had a staff meeting to attend that morning and left ahead of them on her motorized scooter. Shirou left with Sakura after cleaning up the dishes and putting on a fresh change of clothes. They were always the type to arrive to school early, Sakura for her daily practice in the Archery Club, and he to spend some time with his friend, Issei, the Student Council President, and possibly help him out with his work. Today he was intending to try fixing a small space heater that had allegedly reached the end of its life.

At this point in the morning, the road to school was still quiet and nearly empty. The only other people heading this way were students from their neighborhood who also had morning responsibilities. They kept to themselves or spoke in small groups of two or three while maintaining their leisurely pace.

"Senpai", Sakura spoke up, breaking their amicable silence. "Would you like to visit the Archery Dojo today? I doubt anyone would mind."

Shirou considered the proposal. "I suppose it's been a while since I saw Ayako and the others." Ayako Mitsuzuri was the current captain of the Archery Club. A tough girl with a friendly, go-get-em attitude, she was in the same grade as Shirou. They had joined the club at about the same time in their freshman year at the highschool, Homurahara.

Ever since Shirou had quit the club and she had been promoted, she had been desperately gunning to get him back, saying things like, "We need our star member back!", and, "How do you expect us to win the regional tournament without you?" To which Shirou would reply, "I was never that special", and, "You have a lot of good members, I'm sure you'll do great." Her pestering never got to him. She was just trying to do her best as captain and lead the team to victory.

"I suppose I could stop by for a bit", he decided. "Issei is going to be busy with the Student Council for a while before I can help him anyways."

Sakura's face shot up in joy. "Okay! I'm sure the others will be glad to see you, too!"

Shirou simply nodded in agreement. He knew many of the people there, but he really only considered Ayako, Sakura, and on a _good_ day Sakura's brother Shinji, to be his friends. Many of the others, and Shinji too if Shirou was honest about it, were quite upset that he abandoned the club. While _almost_ no one was hostile to him, his leaving, coupled with a new generation of members joining, was slowly making him feel more and more unwelcome.

As they neared the school, Sakura had lost none of the bounce in her step. They went through the front gate before parting ways. Shirou had to take a small detour to put his bag in his locker while Sakura changed into her archery outfit, then doubled back outside to the dojo where the club held its practice.

Shirou liked the dojo. It shared a classical style that reminded him of the one at his home, at least in aesthetic. The scent of the well maintained and polished hardwood floors often lingered, and today was no different; Ayako ran a tight ship.

Shirou stepped inside. Sakura was just finishing putting a glove on as she spoke with Ayako, likely informing her that he would be coming today. He placed his shoes on the rack and stepped into the training area proper. Ayako noticed him come in and greeted him with a big grin and a wave of her hand.

"Oi, Shirou! Finally decided to come crawling back, yeah?", she asked, knowing his answer already.

"Good morning to you too, Ayako", he replied. "Everything going okay with the club?"

"Eh, some of the newbies could use a little more discipline, but that's a problem I can solve. The dojo hasn't changed much since your last visit, so I'd say we're in good shape."

Shirou watched a few of the members take shots down the range. A few hit, a few missed, but only Sakura's hit close to the bullseye, landing just at its edge. Her nearby teammates congratulated her on the great shot, and when she looked Shirou's way he gave her a simple thumbs up rather than try shouting from across the dojo. Sakura received the message clearly and beamed at him.

"She's been working harder than most of the others combined", Ayako said quietly. "She'll be one of our best, almost as good as you, if she sticks to it through graduation."

"She's a surprisingly hard worker", Shirou agreed. "Most people don't realize that with how quiet she is."

Ayako nodded once. "Come on, I'm thirsty, let's grab some tea before I try convincing you to join again."

Shirou cocked an eyebrow at that. "And I'm going to make it, aren't I?" Those who knew of his culinary prowess often thrust him into the position of chef, tea brewer, or whatever other slot need filling at the time.

"Hm? Oh, no, no, no!", Ayako assured him with a laugh and a wave of her hand. She made her way to the wall opposite the entrance. A counter ran along it with many doors, holding some of the equipment needed for the club. Atop it was an electric kettle, already steaming and releasing the distinct aromatic scent of green tea. "Our dojo fairy is here today, so this one is on us."

"Dojo fairy?", Shirou asked incredulously as he followed her. He had heard nothing of this. "Is this some strange new ghost story?"

Ayako chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes. "That's just what I call her in my head now", she explained, gesturing toward the back wall. "Says she likes the atmosphere of a dojo, so she just hangs out here and 'observes' about once a week. Started a few months ago out of the blue. Honestly I thought it was a bit weird at first. She doesn't cause any problems though, so I let her stay in exchange for making the tea - girl makes a killer brew. Not to mention all the guys put in extra effort when she's here… Seriously, if a couple bullseyes was all it took to win a girls heart then you'd be swimming through them in the halls."

Shirou followed her gesture to the back wall. There he saw a familiar girl with long red hair, a past and current classmate he had seen around regularly since middle school. Misuzu Kusakabe was sitting in seiza upon a cushion and held a cup of tea in her hand. She silently regarded the ongoings of the club with a relaxed but distant gaze, as though distracted by other thoughts. So still and quiet was she that Shirou had missed her entirely upon entering.

He knew her to be reserved and distant toward most people, but she was also intelligent, insightful, and she worked well in groups when school demanded it. She was also a bit archaic when it came to her attitude and speech - direct, formal, exceedingly polite, and using an abundant though sometimes odd vocabulary. Many suspected that, because of those traits, she came from an old, wealthy family, but she never talked about it much. She took a sip from her cup, catching Shirou's gaze as she did so.

He made a short, polite bow of greeting from where he was, and she nodded from her position in turn.

"Here's yours", Ayako said, returning Shirou's attention to the tea. "Sugar?"

He took the cup and thanked her, declined the sweetener, and blew on the liquid lightly to help it cool. He took a sip, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was quite good.

Ayako shot him a knowing smile. "Some say it's better than yours", she jibbed.

Shirou tried the drink again, really tasting it. "It's very well made. The only things holding it back are the conditions of preparation and the cheap leaves used."

"Hey!", squaked Ayako, affronted. "The club is on a budget! You start making donations and then you can complain."

Shirou shrugged. He wasn't wrong. "I'm not complaining", he defended. "But the box on the table there says Lipton, and that's just sad, Ayako."

"Yeah… uh-huh", replied Ayako distractedly, looking over his shoulder towards one of her underlings. "I'm sorry", she said, setting her tea aside. "Excuse me while I do my job for a bit." She walked off toward the range, saying something about someone's feet being too close together.

With Ayako occupied and Sakura still taking practice shots, Shirou was suddenly left feeling distinctly isolated with nothing to do in the otherwise busy environment. He quietly sipped at his tea for a while, watching the club put shots down range, making a game of predicting where they would land as soon as they were fired, with incredible accuracy on his part. He grew bored of it quickly and turned to refill his tea cup from the kettle. He was mildly surprised to find the brew master standing right beside it as well, for the same reasons.

"Ah, good morning, Misuzu", he greeted politely.

"Hm", she replied with another nod and a faint smile. "A good morning to you as well, Shirou. The tea is to your liking?"

Shirou nodded before taking another fresh sip of the hot drink, humming lightly in satisfaction. "Ayako gave you wool, but you've spun gold. I'd be hard pressed to match it without a few practice attempts."

Misuzu quirked an eyebrow in appraisal. "You imply that you could, though. Do you brew your own tea regularly, then?"

He nodded in affirmation, a little surprised she hadn't known yet considering their proximity the past few years and his own reputation. "I've been cooking for myself since I was young", Shirou explained. "Most of my meals I make myself, along with handling most of the other housework." He gestured with his cup toward Sakura. "I can't take all the credit though. Sakura is a childhood friend of mine; she visits often and helps with a lot of the work, so she's become quite capable herself."

"You're surprisingly self sufficient for a boy your age", she noted. "Most of the others are busy with games, social circles, and…", she trailed off, her eyes glancing at the entryway of the dojo. Her calm and pleasant expression quickly became a small frown. "…wooing members of the fairer sex", she deadpanned.

Shirou followed her gaze to find Shinji in the entryway. He walked in without taking off his shoes, scuffing the polished floor. The boy had a scowl on his face, and Shirou knew what a Shinji in a bad mood meant for those around him. Shirou's expression became concerned, but before he could decide what to do, Shinji had already begun.

"Hey, you!" Shinji immediately set his sights on a meek looking freshman. The boy startled, and the arrow he was preparing to shoot flew well off course, landing two lanes down near a different target. "What kind of shot do you think that is?", he asked haughtily. "Are you even practicing here or just making an appearance to say you were in a club?" His tirade continued, and Shirou began to frown as well.

"Forgive me, Shirou, I should take my leave", Misuzu said. He could see her mood had only soured further in the short time since Shinji had arrived. "It was nice speaking with you." Her farewell made, she turned to leave as Ayako stepped up to put Shinji back in his place.

Shinji just scowled at her, his frustration rising now that his 'venting' was being denied. He turned away, ignoring her words in favor of finding another outlet. Ayako moved to follow him and continue his scolding, but then stopped in favor of consoling the poor boy who had been unceremoniously chosen as a verbal punching bag. Shinji's warpath led him toward the door to leave, only to be brought up short when he encountered Misuzu doing the same. His mood seemed to brighten immediately as his scowl transformed into what might be described as warm and pleasant smile by those unfamiliar with it. Shirou knew this expression though. It was the wide smile accompanied by a sauve shift in his voice that he used for his shameless womanizing.

"Ah, Misuzu! You stopped by again, I see." He leaned an arm against the door frame, blocking her exit while striking up a conversation. "Were you bored with the average performances today? I'm sorry I wasn't here to show you a better time."

"Remove yourself from my vicinity immediately", she demanded as politely as she could. "I have neither the mood nor the patience to tolerate your routines today." Normally this would be considered a direct assault, merciless and straight for the heart as it was, but she delivered it as a mere warning blow. Shirou saw her hands clench at her sides.

Shinji's facade faltered for an instant, but he wouldn't be deterred so easily. "Routine? Come now, I'm not half as bad as you seem to think. My friend's and I are going out tonight for dinner and a bit of fun around town. Why don't you come with? It'll be my treat", he finished with his best smile.

"Wretch! Cretin! Licentious simpleton!", she declared loudly, pointing at him accusingly. Shirou couldn't see her face, but he assumed it must have been a mixture of outrage and disgust. "You flit around like a hummingbird in a flower garden, constantly seeking your next mark. I've met dogs with more grace and tact. Your intentions are transparent and your advances undesirable. I will not tolerate your presence or debaucherous invitations a second longer!" With a mere flick of her wrist, Shinji's arm was tossed aside with surprising ease, clearing her path to leave.

Shinji, dumbfounded and unexpecting of his forceful removal, stumbled to the side and fell squarely on his rump on the hardwood floor. He watched dumbly as Misuzu made a swift departure, then stared at the door a few moments longer, flabbergasted. His senses finally returned and he stood up before gazing around the room at the many faces staring at him. His expression darkened, but when he set his sights on Shirou it became absolutely fierce. He looked around the room again, frightening a few of the younger members. "And what the hell are you all looking at!", he shouted furiously before storming out the door and slamming it behind him.

Everyone stared at the door for a few moments, before hushed chatter slowly started to spread around the room. Shirou was particularly shocked, as he had never seen Misuzu unleash such an outburst in the years they had been acquainted. Surely there was some greater issue here.

He looked to Ayako, who could only shake her head in exasperation. Sakura was looking at her feet, unsure of how to handle her brother's actions and more than a bit embarrassed by his outburst.

Shirou decided Sakura might have some insight on the situation. He set his tea aside and walked over to her. "Hey, are you alright? What's up between those two?", he asked, both genuinely concerned and curious.

Sakura glanced up at him before frowning and looking back to her feet. "I'm fine", she replied meekly. "Shinji is just… troubled at the moment. He had a disagreement with grandfather. It should only last a few weeks at most, I think." She finished with a faint smile, but Shirou could see it was forced. "As for what happened… This was a confrontation in the making. Ever since Misuzu started showing up Shinji has been… pursuing her", she explained with a blush. "She's been taking things in stride until now and just leaving if it became too much of an issue. I guess today he just went too far."

Shirou was surprised. Shinji was never shy about his advances, and the three of them, Shinji, Misuzu, and himself, shared a classroom. It was odd then that he hadn't seen Shinji trying to make a move during lunch or some other piece of free time.

"Do you think I should try talking to him?", Shirou asked. Usually his friends actions, while a bit unsavory, weren't so disruptive or offensive. If this was going to become an issue, he would do his best to smooth things over now.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea, unless things get worse. Like I said, just give him a few weeks and he should be back to normal."

"Okay, I'll trust you on this one, then", he agreed. "But let me know if it gets out of hand."

She smiled at him again, this time in honest gratitude. "Thank you, Senpai."

* * *

It was not long after that Shirou found himself examining his morning project. Issei had invited him to the student council's meeting room to work on a dying space heater, and Shirou had been happy to assist. Shirou's friend was straight-laced, serious, and dedicated. Good qualities to have for his position in the school. He was about Shirou's height with blue hair and glasses that completed his studious look.

"Do you think it can be saved?", asked the bespectacled boy. "The Literature Club was hoping to save some money this year. They have one of the coldest rooms in the school, and this would set that back considerably…" He looked over Shirou's shoulder curiously as he poked around the machine's internal components.

"Well…", Shirou mumbled as he finished his cursory examination of the machine. "They might need to get a new fan for it soon, but I think I can give it a temporary fix with some cleaning and soldering one of these worn out wires. I can't be completely sure yet though."

Issei nodded in satisfaction. "I imagine they'll be glad to hear that. Are you okay to handle this yourself, then? I hate to leave you, but I have to meet with Mr. Kuzuki about this morning's staff meeting."

Shirou began digging out the tools he'd need for the task. "That's fine. You know I prefer to work on this stuff alone anyways. This should be a pretty simple fix, so I'll try to have it finished before classes start."

Issei bowed to his friend. "Thank you, Shirou. You save the day again. Let me know at lunch if there's anything wrong that I can help with."

Shirou waved his friend off with a smile. "It's fine. Anyone with the same skills would do the same."

"Regardless, thank you. I'll be heading out." As Issei was closing the door, he suddenly lurched back and raised an arm in defense. Through the half open door, Shirou could see his expression shift from his normally cool and collected self to one of shock and combativeness. "Y-you!", he stuttered out. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, good morning to you too, Student Council President."

Shirou's ears perked up in recognition. He knew this voice, and he also knew what it meant for his friend. Shirou was convinced that Issei's interactions with the girl, as president and vice-president of their middle school, were solely responsible for Issei's general lack of trust in women. Few people knew of the social shadow war that raged between these two titans of school politics.

On one side, his friend, defending the virtues of kindness, equality, and honesty. A style that promoted a common unity among students. Opposing him, his arch nemesis, Rin Tohsaka, championing the harsh truths of judiciousness, efficiency, and cold pragmatism. A type of leadership that was conducive to competition between the clubs it oversaw, but also showed incredible results in productivity. The two agreed on the rule of law, but their interpretations became tangled, and the two frequently found themselves at odds. On the rare occasion that they saw eye to eye, the results they produced were always golden.

Issei was lucky when Rin had backed down from her position upon entering high school, but now he struggled to save the portion of the student body that was wrapped around her finger. 'Deluded' he would call them. 'A being of lies and deceit' he would describe her as.

Shirou wasn't so sure. He had never seen the girl do anything to harm anybody, and she appeared to be the perfect honor roll student. She was usually happy, friendly, athletic, and often willing to help other students if they had the strength of will to approach her. All things considered, Shirou was inclined to take Issei's warnings with a grain of salt. While the two might not be able to get along with each other, there was no reason to assume Rin was a generally bad person.

"What business do you have here?", demanded an irritated President, instantly put on high alert by the girl's mere presence.

"None", responded the now haughty Rin. "I'm passing by on my way to class, I'll have you know. It's not my fault that your room is right next to the stairs."

"Hmph. I suppose I _may_ have overreacted", he retorted.

"My, what a humble President we have. And you call me the problem student."

Shirou could see Issei's frown deepen from where he sat. A bad start and a worse follow through had him solidly on the losing end of this light altercation. He'd have to bail his friend out on this one and restore peace to the otherwise quiet hall before Rin really riled him up. He already had to deal with one social outburst today, perhaps he could put a lid on this one before it overflowed? He devised a quick, if a tad humiliating, plan as the argument continued.

He walked to the door and began opening it to lean out. "Hey, Issei, do you know where… Oh, hey, Rin", he greeted in mock surprise once he had her in sight.

Her normal tone returned instantly and her bewilderment at his sudden appearance flickered on her face for only a second. "Good morning. How do you do, Shirou?", she answered.

"I'm well, thank you." His eyes flickered between the two of them quickly. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No", Rin responded with a pretty little smile that tugged gently on his heart. "I was just leaving, actually. Have a good day in class, you two." She then made a quick turn on her heel as she headed for the third floor.

As Shirou watched her go, his gaze lingered just long enough for his friend to catch it.

"Stay away from demons, Shirou", Issei warned seriously. "They wear beautiful guises to get close, and the beast within will consume you…"

Shirou gave him a deadpan look.

Issei sighed and shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me. Ignore history. You've always been the type to learn through experience anyways." He took a deep breath to mellow himself. "Did you need something, then?"

Original mission successful, he straightened himself and asked, "Did you see my screwdriver?"

"It's in your left hand, if I'm not mistaken…"

Shirou looked at the hand. "Oh. Thank you." The situation made him look the fool, but it was all he could come up with in the limited time. "Sorry to hold you up."

"It is no problem. Good luck in your endeavor." Issei walked away, leaving Shirou to his devices.

With the crisis averted and peace restored, Shirou shut the door and turned back to his task. There was a reason he almost always handled these projects alone. He sat beside the partially dismantled machine and laid his hands upon it.

The reinforcement techniques he had been practicing last night were of a level of thaumaturgy that pushed his limits as a magus. It required a level of mana manipulation that he was only recently starting to get a hang of. His practice was slow going without a proper instructor, and with that in mind he was quite pleased with any progress at all. What he would do now was much easier for him.

Structural analysis it was called, an offshoot of his reinforcement abilities. One of the only two mysteries his late adoptive father had instructed him in. It came to him quite naturally and although, as his father had said, it was a pretty pointless and limited ability, he had made it his own and put it to work helping him in his tinkering. With this ability he could sense the structure and material composition of an object, allowing him a greater familiarity and understanding of an object than someone holding a blueprint of it in its current state.

He examined the machine in this way, going over all the internal pieces that made the machine tic and searching for any problems. His visual analysis had been mostly right. The fan was nearing its end, he needed to do some cleaning, and he found an extra electrical connection that needed a touch up that he had missed. Simple work for one who knew what he was doing.

* * *

Having finished his work, he headed to his classroom for homeroom roll call. He was actually just a bit late, the bell finishing its chimes as he opened the door to the room.

Luckily, his homeroom teacher was none other than the same Taiga Fujimura who had 'pranked' him that morning at breakfast. While she was a good person who truly enjoyed her work, she was often a bit of a lazy airhead, meaning that she was usually rushing to make it to class on time.

Today was no exception, and as Shirou took his seat the door leapt open to reveal a slightly disheveled Taiga. She was carrying slightly more baggage than usual, Shirou noted. She shook off her previous demeanor and entered her teacher mode, something normally reserved for when she had begun he actual teaching in class.

"Good morning, everyone~! I trust you all had a good weekend? I have something a bit special today so let's hurry through roll call this morning." Whispers broke out around the room while she quickly started going through the list of students. As names were called, replies of 'here' cut above the chatter.

Though he hadn't noticed until that point, Shirou was not surprised when Shinji didn't respond to his name being called. The boy had an ego that the school could barely contain, and with the humiliation he had experienced earlier in the dojo, it was no wonder he had skipped out on class.

What was surprising was when the crimson assailant herself was also absent.

"Misuzu?", Taiga asked the air and looked around the room. "Misuzu Kusakabe?" She frowned to herself before marking the 'absent' box on sheet, the first time in her memory that she had done so for the girl. She completed her check in and looked at the room again. Her tone became a bit more serious, which was about as serious as Taiga could be in a normal situation. "Okay, everyone! I know it's not time for my English class yet, but since I'm your homeroom teacher you guys will get a little more notice than some of the other classes today. No one's going to be happy about this but you were warned from the start of the semester."

The class was silent for a moment before it clicked. A quiet groan could be heard to rise throughout the room.

"Now now it's not that bad", she reassured, waving her hand as though to dispel the foul mood. She shifted into business mode again as she began her explanation. "As a reminder to anyone who may have forgotten, we have a group project this semester. According to new educational standards, you need to do enough of these by the time you graduate", she explained with a slight grimace. "Something about a business oriented world and interpersonal skills… It has fallen upon yours truly to handle one of these this semester." She walked down the rows handing out papers to each student.

"You'll be in pairs or groups of three for this. If you do a group of three, I expect a little more effort, which is explained in the paper I'm handing out. To make things a bit easier, you have options on exactly how you want to do your project, so pick a medium that suits your strengths. This is worth a significant portion of your grade this semester so _don't _slack off on it", she said in a warning tone. She completed handing out the papers. Returning to the podium, she looked at her class expectantly. When nothing happened she frowned slightly. "What are you all waiting for, hm? Pick your groups!"

Shirou looked over the paper as the class sought out their friends, hoping to get grouped with people they knew best. He wasn't concerned about the pairings; he got along with basically everyone so he'd just group with whoever was left at the end. The assignment seemed to be a fairly straightforward class presentation about one of the stories they'd read in class that year. They could choose to do a poster outlining the story, a slideshow presentation, or a short skit acting out a scene, each with its own set of rules and grading criteria.

He finished reading through the paper and looked up to see who was left or otherwise willing to partner with him.

"Alright, everyone got a group?", Taiga asked cheerily. "Let me write down who is with who."

Shirou was about to object but realised Shinji was absent. The two hadn't exactly been on the best of terms lately but the boy would need a partner. While Shirou noticed a few of Shinji's friends in two-man groups that might be willing to pick him up, he knew from experience that Shinji was, frankly, a terrible person to be partnered with. Shirou didn't mind though. It meant a little extra work for him, but he'd be able to help pull up the boys struggling English grade up, which he felt was a good thing. With that in mind, he waited for Taiga to finish scribbling down the other groups.

"And lastly Ryo and Akihiko", she concluded. "Okay, did I miss anybody?"

Shirou raised his hand. "Taiga, I…" He was cut off by the death glare he received from his teacher. "S-sorry", he apologized, trying to laugh it off lightly. He would occasionally forget that they were in school, where he had to watch how he addressed her. The threat of her old Kendo shinai popped in his head, and he suppressed a shudder of fear. "Ms. Fujimura, I haven't gotten a partner yet, I wondering if…", he was stopped short again as the classroom door slid open.

"Pardon me, Ms. Fujimura. I apologize for my tardiness. I had some issues this morning, and I was late because of it. Forgive me."

And in walked Misuzu, apologetically bowing to Ms. Fujimura.

"Ah no!", exclaimed Taiga happily. "You're timing is perfect. Shirou, you didn't have a partner, right?"

"Ah, yeah, that's correct", he answered, already seeing what was coming.

"Perfect! Then you two can be partners. I have high expectations from two A students, though." She wrote down their names and handed the girl a sheet of instructions.

Misuzu bowed to Shirou. "I look forward to working with you." She then took her seat, two rows over from his own.

"That just leaves Shinji", Taiga announced. "Would anyone like to add Mr. Matou to their group?"

The silence was palpable.

Taiga looked about the room, and when no one replied, she made eye contact with Shirou, knowing he was one of the only students who could put up with the boy.

Realizing what Taiga was intending, his eyes widened in horror. He slowly shook his head so that, hopefully, only she would notice. He couldn't let both Misuzu and Shinji end up in the same group after that morning's conflict; the results would be catastrophic. Shinji would have to fend for himself.

Taiga, misunderstanding why he didn't want Shinji in the group, smiled wryly at him. "Well, we'll figure that out when he's back, I suppose." The bell rang at that point, signaling the end of the homeroom period. As Taiga left, she left the class with of last piece of information. "During my class later I'll be answering questions, assigning which stories you will be using, and giving you all some class time to get started and brainstorm with your partners. I'll see you all in a few hours!"

A/N: Welcome back, everyone. I hope you liked the chapter! I know not a lot happened this time but I felt it was an important basic setup chapter and it gave me some practice writing with the characters before we reach some of the meatier chapters. It also let me think about some of the relationships that the characters have in deeper detail which is going to be important further down the road.

I felt compelled to establish a baseline relationship between Shirou and Misuzu early on rather than force it along the way like I did last time, since I still intend to have them working together. Shirou and Rin got along well enough through a mixture of Rin's overbearing and frankly manipulative personality and Shirou's ability to go 'yeah, sure' and roll with it for most things. In the 11eyes VN, the whole main cast ends up working together mostly from the circumstance of finding themselves facing the same challenges. I figure I can do something similar here, and since they both have such strong beliefs regarding protecting others (though for different reasons) their partnership should bloom naturally from there. I hope. We'll see. I try really hard.

It has been, sadly, about three months since the prologue chapter. I hope to upload a bit faster than that in the future. I had a lot of distractions the past couple of months, including reading the 11eyes VN for the first time. Thank you very much to the guest user who pointed me in the right direction - being able to read that is going to help this story _so_ much that I can't even thesaurus up a good word for it. Like most VNs, the anime did not do it proper justice.

Lastly, questions about the story from last chapter's reviews. Please leave a review if you have questions, comments, or concerns for next time, or if you just want to show your support! Have a good day everybody!

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**Stop here** **if you don't want any spoilers from the Q/A section.**

Q: Will I be working with more 11eyes characters?

A: Absolutely, but not for the foreseeable future unless I do decide to include a few in the background of the Grail War, which, honestly, is rather likely.

Q: Misuzu seemed underpowered in the original fic. How strong is she going to be?

A: Well I would like to answer "Wait and see, haha!", but if you're really that interested in knowing my thoughts - Yeah, she can probably hold off or even beat some of the weaker servants if she plays her cards right. I didn't think that in the original fic because I hadn't read the VN yet. Girl has more tricks than a circus…

Q: Will Liselotte make an appearance?

A: Short version: Yes. Longer version (Maybe a bit bigger of a spoiler idk?): If you haven't read between the lines yet, the story will ultimately be separated into a large Grail War arc followed by the 11eyes arc. If I feel like it, there might be another, shorter, original arc in the middle for me to have some fun with, we'll see. Liselotte will not be touched upon until the 11eyes arc unless I have a _major_ change of heart on what I want to do with this story.


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